Fiery Darts
“Fiery Darts” is a game that may be found on www.godlygames.com. It is run with the Windows platform and was created by Dan Sharpe. In the game, you have agency over a giant sword and balls of fire are being shot at the sword from all directions. The player must fire thunderbolts back at these fire balls or opt to transform the sword into a shield and protect yourself. The fireballs that the player is being assaulted with are the “fiery darts of the Devil”. The fire is thus symbolic of evil and wrongdoing. We are told that the thunderbolts used to ward off the Devil’s attacks are the Glory of God. It may be ascertained that the glory of God is all that one needs to combat evil. The Sword of the Spirit is the element that the gamer has agency over, the object we play the game “as”. The sword is the object that sprays the Glory of God. The Sword of The Spirit is a part of a set of attributes called the Full Armor of God. The verse that describes this outfit can be found in the Bible in Ephesians 6:10-18: 10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. With the Full Armor of God, one should be equipped to fight the powers of evil and ready to do God’s work. By placing the player’s agency in the Sword of the Spirit, we have no choice but to do good work if we are to succeed at this game. In times that the player is inundated with fiery darts, one may opt to utilize the Sheild of Faith. The Shield of Faith is another item in the Full Armor of God. The Shield of Faith does not issue counterattacks to the Devil, but merely protects the Sword of the Spirit from being destroyed. While rooted strongly in scripture, I believe that “Fiery Darts” does not do enough to define the idea of evil and what the darts are supposed to represent. Without tangible scriptural examples of evil, evil becomes a motif, simply a word that all are assumed to know the definition of. I think that Fiery Darts would be more effective if there were accompanying scriptures attached to the darts, defining evil and showing us the “face” of the Devil. Citations: Holy Bible. New International Version. Zondervan 2010.